Skyteam - which is best airline for points program?

[adampenrith]

Hi Brains Trust

Just wrestling with a dilema

We have just purchased Garuda Business Flights to Bali for May 2020.

The question is which airline is best to credit the points?

Previously we have flown Garuda a lot and accumulated great points and used them.

Since then we flew Virgin (which on a 737 did nothing for us) but they would be the perfect program to credit to if they had a decent J offering to Bali.

Then we did Garuda with an KLM add on to Singapore - and credited to Flying Blue. However their points expire in 2 years so Jan 2020 we say goodbye to what we have in out account.

the last couple of trips we have gone with SQ via SIN on points which was wonderful.

This trip is do we credit back to Flying Blue and try and deal with the 2 yr expiry , or is there a better program we can use, Maybe Garuda is better or even Lotus Miles or Delta.

We prefer Virgin domestically and long haul you are very loyal to Singapore

Just wondering if I am missing something or just need to suck up the Flying Blue 2 yr or the Garuda 3 yr expiry.

I will say Garuda are very easy to deal with ...

 

[Bouba]

Unlike e.g. SQ, Flying blue miles don't expire so long as you take a flight every two years. Not sure about the other programmes.

Enjoy!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You can credit Garuda flights to Etihad's FF program. Redeem on American Airlines, Virgin Australia, etc. Etihad is a reasonable program for orphan miles from various airlines. I credited Oman Air flights and redeemed a short AA domestic ticket that was selling for AUD750 one way. I had to call to redeem the award but it took about 2 minutes.

 

[jase05]

I credit mine to Delta. I hear plenty of poor reviews of their FFP but I joined for their status match to claim SkyTeam Elite plus and they have just remained my default FFP rather than spread my points out.

 

[dajop]

You can credit Garuda flights to Etihad's FF program. Redeem on American Airlines, Virgin Australia, etc. Etihad is a reasonable program for orphan miles from various airlines. I credited Oman Air flights and redeemed a short AA domestic ticket that was selling for AUD750 one way. I had to call to redeem the award but it took about 2 minutes.

Do they still have the two year hard expiry though? Unless doing a lot of flying that accrues to the Etihad program it can be difficult to get enough points for decent redemption within the expiry time.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Do they still have the two year hard expiry though? Unless doing a lot of flying that accrues to the Etihad program it can be difficult to get enough points for decent redemption within the expiry time.

Good question. Dunno.

The redemption i got was like 12000 miles, which is pretty much exactly what I earned for the one way MNL-UK on Oman Air. I think VA awards are slightly less? So a round trip to Bali, with bonus miles, might just about get a o/w AU short haul award.

 

[adampenrith]

Well the points expire in Jan 2020 - i have discovered this from the very clunky klm flying blue website

"All your Miles are valid for life as long as you take an eligible flight on Air France, KLM, Aircalin, Kenya Airways, TAROM or other airline partners at least once every 2 years, or if you're an Elite or Elite Plus member, or if you make a purchase with an eligible co-branded credit card at least once every 2 years. These "Overall extending activities" extend the validity of all Miles 2 years from the date of the activity.
You can also extend the validity of Miles earned with all other partners (car rental partners, hotel partners, and experience partners) for 2 years by earning Miles with any of these other partners. These "Partial extending activities" with other partners will extend the validity of Miles earned with any of these other partners by 2 years from the date of the activity. Please note, "Partial extending activities" do not extend the validity of Miles earned from "Overall extending activities".

So i have changed a couple of upcoming hotel reservations to credit to flying blue, and moved a reservation from my name to my husbands - so hopefully if what i read above is true I have saved the points for another 2 years - during which time we will fly and keep things happening.

I have also requested via feedback that Flying Blue confirm my understanding is correct

 

[dajop]

"All your Miles are valid for life as long as you take an eligible flight .... at least once every 2 years, ..... . These flights extend the validity of all Miles 2 years from the date of the activity.
You can also extend the validity of Miles earned from non-flight activity for 2 years by earning Miles with any non flight activity. These "Partial extending activities" with other partners will extend the validity of Miles earned with any of these other partners by 2 years from the date of the activity. Please note, "Partial extending activities" do not extend the validity of Miles earned from flights.

I have also requested via feedback that Flying Blue confirm my understanding is correct

I think your understanding is incorrect. If (as you indicate above) you earnt your original miles from flights, only new flights will extend those miles. (nb: I have taken the liberty of changing the wording you wrote from "Overall extending activities .." as the credit card language is not relevant in your situation, and "partial extending activities" to "Non-flight activity")

 

[Skyhawk]

If I did a flight with Vietnam Airlines and asked for the points to be credited to my Delta SkyMiles account, would the points expire?
Delta state that SkyMiles never expire, but maybe they would because the flights were with another airline.
Thx.

 

[Mattg]

If I did a flight with Vietnam Airlines and asked for the points to be credited to my Delta SkyMiles account, would the points expire?
Delta state that SkyMiles never expire, but maybe they would because the flights were with another airline.
Thx.

No, your Delta Skymiles miles will not expire

The main risk is that they get devalued as Delta doesn't have award charts, but they won't expire.

(When crediting partner airline flights, obviously make sure you've booked a fare class that's eligible to earn - Delta Airline Partners : Delta Air Lines)

 

[Skyhawk]

Thanks, Matt. It's better than nothing.

It's the only program I know of that has an indefinite no activity, no expiry.

 

[Mattg]

Thanks, Matt. It's better than nothing.

It's the only program I know of that has an indefinite no activity, no expiry.

United MileagePlus also has this.

(Obviously United is not SkyTeam, but it means DL is unlikely to change it's policy, as there are competitive forces at play)

 

[Supersonic Swinger]

The lack of expiry which Delta introduced in 2011 (and subsequently copied by JetBlue in 2013 and United in 2019) makes it the default choice to bank miles if you only fly Delta or SkyTeam occasionally.

Especially if you occasionally fly Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic and now LATAM, you can credit there too...

 

[Flashback]

I'm conflicted as to where to credit upcoming flights to, there's a few things at play here. I'm not sure how often I'll have to fly ScaryTeam so I wouldn't work things out based on any guaranteed rate of travel. My last ST flight was nearly a decade ago.

I'm looking at either Delta (who I used last time) given no expiry, or Virgin Atlantic (given I have a stash of miles here); both programs I can credit my AMEX miles to also. Then there's Flying Blue....... which I can also credit my AMEX miles to. So that takes care of any expiry issues for VS or AF/KL.

I will sign up for Bluebiz regardless, as you may as well double dip (the same as I do with BA and BA OnBusiness).

Earnings on VS appear better than DL, but there's not many reports of crediting AF code flights to VS since the announcement/change was made by VS last year.

My upcoming flights are a mix of J and Z

Where to Credit | Where to Credit Air France Flights in J Booking Class

Find the best frequent flyer program for Air France flights in booking class J!

www.wheretocredit.com

Where to Credit | Where to Credit Air France Flights in Z Booking Class

Find the best frequent flyer program for Air France flights in booking class Z!

www.wheretocredit.com

Appreciate any thoughts people have, but each time I think about it I come up with a different answer.

Both FB and VS would allow me to earn Platinum and Gold status respectively fairly easily, DL gives a useful balance of miles if I ever need to do a short hop in the US. The last time I flew ST I ended up dumping the miles in DL and they came in handy for 2x Y award flights SFO-SEA-YYJ. I status matched to DL Gold back then too, so not sure I could status match again, but it has been nearly a decade.

I can status match to VS and get Gold right away (possibly), but VS seems to require crediting of a VS flight to seal the deal, rather than AF/KL. Again, I don't know how flexible they are on that.

 

[Flashback]

One more to throw into the ring, Air Europa. The miles could sit there and turn into Avios...... if/when that deal closes, but that's not guaranteed and with no easy way to earn miles in the program otherwise, they could expire.

In general, whichever program is chosen, status might be easier/quicker to earn due to reduced levels as a result of COVID-19?

 

[Flashback]

Leaning towards DL or VS now. With FB apparently the expiry on your miles differs for those earned BIS vs those earned CC which is annoying.

Decisions, decisions ..........

 

[Mattg]

Leaning towards DL or VS now. With FB apparently the expiry on your miles differs for those earned BIS vs those earned CC which is annoying.

Decisions, decisions ..........

Delta SkyMiles don't expire, but Virgin Atlantic points may be more valuable (and you can buy extra points if needed for a reward).

Yeah, I'd steer clear of Flying Blue for the reasons you've mentioned.

 

[Flashback]

Delta SkyMiles don't expire, but Virgin Atlantic points may be more valuable (and you can buy extra points if needed for a reward).

Yeah, I'd steer clear of Flying Blue for the reasons you've mentioned.

Delta can be useful for short hops, whereas VS has a very restricted network (long haul only) so pros and cons to each!

 

[SYD]

Rather than starting a new thread, thought I‘d mention here that Flying Blue are doing DSC (or Double XP to be precise) through to the end of 2021. Not sure if it’s targeted but I received this email this morning:

No matter where you choose to go, gain double the amount of XP you would normally get on all Air France and KLM marketed flights taken before the end of 2021.

Make your bookings now and fast-track to Silver! And remember: every time you fly, you extend the validity of your Miles by 2 years.

Not that too many of us will be boarding an AF/KLM marketed flight anytime soon…

 

[Flashback]

Delta can be useful for short hops, whereas VS has a very restricted network (long haul only) so pros and cons to each!

In the end I went for VS. Miles posted very quickly and a decent haul given I didn't have any VS status (yet).